It is generally desirable that participants in a sport practice their skills. In particular, it is desirable that participants in a sport requiring that a projectile, such as a puck or ball, be shot, driven, thrown, or otherwise propelled into a goal area, practice their aiming skills with reference to the goal area. The goal area is generally defined as a two-dimensional region through which the projectile must pass to be counted towards a player's score; the region may be defined by markers, posts, or a frame around two or more sides of the two-dimensional area. The space behind the goal may be blocked by a net, mesh, board, or other means to prevent a projectile from travelling too far beyond the goal area.
An individual player may practice his or her goal-scoring skills equipped with a projectile playing piece, equipment to be used in propelling the projectile, and a goal; for example, in the sport of hockey, a solo player may practice scoring goals on an empty goal with a puck and a hockey stick. However, in some sports the goal area is protected by a goaltender, whose role is to block the projectile from entering the goal area. Scoring a goal by propelling the projectile into the goal area, therefore, presents more of a challenge than is available in solo practice, because portions of the goal area are blocked. Even for those sports participants whose interest is more recreational than competitive, solo practice in this fashion may present an insufficient challenge to maintain the participant's interest.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a means to increase the challenge of solo recreational or competitive sports practice.